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Wall Street Project Conference Highlights
More than 5000 people have attended the 10th
Anniversary Wall Street Project Conference in New York, January 7-10th,
2007, hosted by Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, the Citizenship Education Fund and
the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
Potential Democratic Party presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barak
Obama addressed the conference on Monday, indicating support for the goals
of the Wall Street Project. Obama said that although much progress has been
made, much more remains to be done. He also indicated that he had the
greatest respect for Rev. Jackson’s leadership, determination and courage in
addressing issues that others might find uncomfortable. Obama acknowledged
that he walked in the footsteps of Jackson and others as he contemplates a
run for President. Hillary Clinton made a point of calling for a new
direction for the nation.
Rev. Al Sharpton has been on had throughout the conference, at one point
introducing Rev. Jackson as a “thermostat leader, not a thermometer leader”
– who did not merely indicate the temperature of the crowd, but who changed
the temperature.
Leaders from Shell Oil, Boeing, Citigroup and a host of other multinational
companies promised to work to improve access to capital, business
development and energy policy.
Among those in attendance from the Southern region were: Axel Adams,
Rainbow PUSH director of 1000 Churches Connected, Janice L. Mathis, Director
of Rainbow PUSH Atlanta, Bishop Johnny Smith of Greenville, South Carolina
and Michelle Johnson, Director of Supplier Diversity for The Home Depot.
Senator Chris Dodd, Democratic Senator from Connecticut, made some of the
most concrete commitments. As the in-coming chair of the powerful Senate
Committee on Banking and Finance, Dodd offered a four-point plan of :
Senate hearings on access to capital and predatory practices in the credit
card industry; access to mainstream financial services for urban and
low-income neighborhoods; a blue ribbon task force composed of Wall Street
and public policy leaders to address access to capital; high level Capitol
Hill meetings with the Senate Democratic Caucus to make the issues a
priority for the entire Congress. Dodd indicated that he wanted his
children to be able to point to concrete steps that he took to make markets
fair, transparent, liquid and competitive. Dodd also promised to come back
to the Wall Street Project to report on progress of his efforts.
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